BJP leader arrested for gang rape in Gujarat, girl was drugged 15 minutes after every rape

RAJKOT: BJP leader Chetan Thakkar has arrested for gang rape in Gujarat. The special investigation team (SIT) probing the gang rape of a 22-year-old woman from Kothara village in Naliya taluka of Kutch, arrested two more accused in the case on Wednesday. With this arrest, the total number of accused arrested in the case has reached five.

Shantilal Solanki (48), who runs Bharat Gas agency in Naliya town and Bharat Chauhan (37), a resident of Naliya, were arrested by the SIT. Police also seized the car owned by Shantilal in which the survivor was allegedly raped by the accused.

Meanwhile, three accused who were arrested on Tuesday, were produced before a court in Naliya. The court granted their 14-day police remand to Vinod alias Baba Sheth Thakkar (68), his son Chetan Thakkar (35), both residents of Naliya town, and Ashwin Ravilal Thakkar (44), a resident of Maninagar in Nakhatrana town of Kutch.

Vinod and Chetan were arrested from Mulund in Mumbai while Ashwin was nabbed from Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway. Chetan is an elected member of Abdasa Taluka Panchayat and belongs to BJP. Police has already issued lookout notices for four other accused and alerted various airports to ensure that they don’t leave the country.

The woman was allegedly raped in 2015 upon her return from her in-law’s house in Mumbai. She was in search of a job and talked to Babu Lohana, a stock broker. He introduced her to his friend Shantilal Solanki, who owned a gas agency in Naliya. Solanki later employed the woman.

According to the woman’s complaint, when she demanded advance salary ahead of Diwali, Solanki asked her to collect the money from his house in Naliya. When she went to his house, Solanki, Bharat Darji and Vipul Thakkar allegedly raped her. Then, Solanki and Thakkar took her near the coastal area and raped her again, she alleged. The accused raped her several times and at different places in the last one-and-a half-years, the survivor has alleged.